Counterterrorism & Intelligence Journal Articles Archive

Syria is the new hub for foreign fighters who are gaining battlefield experience. A subset of these fighters falls within the jihadist-terrorist camp. These individuals may return to their home country and target it, using their newfound skill and their native knowledge. To address this threat a multidimensional, transnational response is needed.

This article focuses on two understudied but fertile grounds for radicalization in the United States: the nation’s prison system and cyberspace. Until the bounds of the challenge in each of these contexts are better understood, effective, appropriately tailored prevention and response measures cannot be formulated and implemented.

Hawalas, charities, commodities—each of these has one aspect in common: They are methods by which terrorists launder and remit their money. In the wake of 11 September, much has been discovered about the financial support structure of the terrorist cells that perpetrated the attacks on the United States.

After spending nearly $30 billion annually on intelligence gathering efforts, why did the intelligence community (IC) fail to predict the September 11 terrorist attacks? How could they have prevented the attacks? How can the United States improve its ability to ensure that an event like this will not happen again?

As smoke rose in to the sky over New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia on 11 September 2001, members of Congress pledged to work together and support the President’s strategy to counter the terrorists’ attack. Today, Congress has succeeded in making homeland security a national priority, but it has failed to effectively coordinate its actions.

With the signing of peace treaties and the deployment of NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo, the time has come to crown a victor. While NATO may have achieved its objectives in the “war”—forcing Serbia to agree to remove its troops, allowing the Kosovars back into their homes, and establishing a peacekeeping force—the real winner is the Albanian mafia.

The face of terrorism is changing and so are its methods. A new breed of terrorists is seeking out and using weapons of greater lethality that can affect scores of victims over large areas. For conspirators hoping, or at least willing, to inflict mass casualties, nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons are the tools of choice in their arsenal.

A dedicated adversary can procure and employ capabilities that present a grave threat to U.S. national security, specifically: a synergistic attack that capitalizes on IW strategies to multiply the effects of traditional terrorist tactics.